Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-26

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The graph below shows average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per person in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal between 1967 and 2007.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The line graph below illustrate the average carbon dioxide emission per person in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal between 1967 and 2007.

Overall, Portugal experience significant rose in average carbon dioxide emissions per person in four decade. Moreover, Secondly Italy also has dramatically growth in the time whereas United Kingdom has fall in the emission per person during the time. However, Sweden has sharply drop in the carbon dioxide emission per person.

Starting from 1967 United Kingdom had the highest carbon dioxide with over more than 10 metric tonnes followed by Sweden with more than 8 metric tonnes whereas third rank was for Italy 4 metric tonnes and lastly Portugal around 1 metric tonnes.

In 1977 after 1 decade Portugal experienced rose.However, United Kingdom started falling in 1977. In contrast, Sweden had rapid fall since 1977 whereas Italy and Portugal had growth in these times.Furthermore, United Kingdom line graph had also shown the decline in the time,

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt by describing the overall trends and starting points of the four countries. However, the task achievement is hindered by inaccuracies and missing key data comparisons. For instance, the statement 'Sweden has sharply drop in the carbon dioxide emission per person' overlooks the initial rise in Sweden from 1967 to 1977. Additionally, the overview section contains disjointed sentences rather than a cohesive summary of the main trends. While the writer mentions several data points, such as the UK starting at over 10 metric tonnes, the overall development lacks precision and fails to fully synthesise the data across the entire forty-year period. This places the response in the lower-middle tier for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The organisation of the text is basic, and the logical progression is frequently disrupted by poor paragraphing and repetitive phrasing. The introduction and overview are conflated into a confusing block of sentences. Cohesive devices are either misused or awkwardly applied, such as 'Moreover, Secondly Italy also has dramatically growth in the time whereas United Kingdom has fall...' Furthermore, referencing and transitional phrases are weak, making it difficult to follow the chronological development of the data. Paragraphing is not used effectively to structure the comparison of the four countries across different time intervals, resulting in a disjointed reading experience.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple terms like 'rise', 'fall', 'growth', and 'drop'. There are notable word-formation and collocation errors throughout the response, such as 'significant rose' instead of 'significant rise', 'dramatically growth' instead of 'dramatic growth', and 'sharply drop' instead of 'sharp drop'. These lexical errors and the lack of flexibility in paraphrasing the task instructions restrict the score. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, but inaccurate word choices prevent clear expression of the trends shown in the graph.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The grammatical range is quite limited, consisting mostly of simple and attempted complex sentences that contain frequent errors. Examples of structural and grammatical inaccuracies include 'The line graph below illustrate' (subject-verb agreement error), 'Portugal experience significant rose' (missing article and tense/form error), and 'United Kingdom line graph had also shown the decline in the time' (awkward phrasing and tense usage). Punctuation is also problematic, with missing spaces after full stops (e.g., '1967 United Kingdom', 'experienced rose.However'). These persistent errors frequently impede fluency and place the response firmly in the Band 5 category for grammar.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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